According to the study, carried out by ABI Research, the milestone of six billion ICs was passed for the first time in 2010 as manufacturers bounced back from a poor 2009, recording growth of over 20 percent to meet demand for the 5.9 billion smart cards that shipped. Driving this growth was the SIM card market which reached the shipment landmark of 4 billion units for the first time.
The same research indicates that these were not the only milestones: in terms of value, the IC market returned to the USD 2 billion level after a significant decline in 2009 when it fell to USD 1.7 billion. This growth was a result of higher volumes and a slower decline in average selling price, as well as strong growth in higher value verticals and a greater requirement for higher-level features, such as contactless and multiple application capabilities.
Smart cards employing a contactless interface made up a little over 10 percent of the total.
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